Improvement in tobacco-presses



B. MOON.

TOBACCO PRESS.

Patented March 6,1877

Witnesse .76 iizwfl UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

- BONG MOON, OF SAN FRANCISCO, OALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOBACCO-PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 188,169, dated March 6,1877; application filed I January 15, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BONG- MOON, of the city and county of San Francisco,and State of California, have invented an Improved T0- bacco-Press; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improved machine for compressing leaf-tobaccointo plugs or cakes, so that it can be readily cut or shaved into whatis known as long-cut tobacco for smoking purposes.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective viewof my press. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the clampingboards.

A represents the base or floor upon which the machine is constructed. Bis a bench or table, which I secure permanently upon the base or floorA. In one end of this table I make a vertical mortise, G, and acrossthis mortise I mount a horizontal shaft or roller, D, the ends of whichproject upon each side of the bench or table. This roller or shaft canbe variously mounted, either by supporting it in suitable holes in thesides of the mortise, or it could be mounted in a separate frame-work atone end of the table or bench as a Windlass.

Holes are made in each projecting end of the roller or shaft, so that byusing two short levers, E E, one on each side of the bench, a person canrotate the roller like a Windlass, by using alternately one lever andthen the other.

F is a bail, which can be made of any suitable material, and which issecured to the opposite end of the bench.

The leaves of tobacco which it is desired to compress together into aplug or cake I first place in proper order between two clamping.

boards, h h, as represented at Fig. 2. I then place the boards, withtheir intervening thickness of tobacco, horizontally upon the bench ortable.

I is a long lever, one end of which is hooked under the bail F, for afulcrum, while a drawcord, J, from the roller or Windlass D, passes overits opposite end. Now, by rotating the Windlass, as above described, thelever is forced down upon the upper clamping-board until the interveninglayer of tobacco is com pressed into a solid cake, after which the leveris released, and the compressed tobacco is removed from between theboards. In order to now press the edges of the plug or cake, I providetwo parallel rows of holes in the top of the table or bench. These holesI make at a short distance apart, and lengthwise of thettable; and ineach hole I place a stake or standard, K, thus providing two parallelrows of stakes, with a space between the rows equal to the thickness ofthe condensed plug or cake of tobacco. The lever I I make thin enough topass edgewise between the rows of stakes. I then drop the plug betweenthe rows of stakes, and compress each edge consecutively until the plughas been pressed to the desired form and solidity.

L L are two brace-bars, which lie upon the table or bench, one on theoutside of each row of standards. These bars are connected together atone end by a metallic loop, M, while their opposite ends can be drawntogether by a cord-fastening, O, as represented, thus enabling me toclamp them upon the standards, and thus brace them. These bars can beleft upon the table when the plug or cake is being pressed flatwise.

By this construction and. arrangement I provide a cheap and efi'ectivetobacco-press for the purpose specified.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

The brace-bars L L, connected at one end by the metal loop M, andarranged to be compressed upon the parallel rows of standards K K bymeans of the draw-fastening O, in combination with the bench or table B,lever I, bale F, draw-cord J, and Windlass D, substantially as and forthe purposedescribed.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

BONG MOON. Witnesses:

A. F. ADAMS, T. M. JEWETT, J 0s. T. OBEIRNE.

